Safe And Sound
by Ramonks33
Summary: AU: One shot! Ella Martinez, 16, is flying for the first time, to visit her father and sister in new Mexico. A new flier, she's rather nervous. What happens when she encounters young James Griffiths, a charming yet blind young man! Read to find out! Please R&R!


_Safe and Sound_

_A/N: Hey! So, I've noticed in my writing, I've been skimming over Maximum Ride, A LOT. I mostly write Pjo, or Hunger Games. Working on that, trust me. But to give you some variety, here's a new Iggy and Ella one shot!_

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Her suitcase handle suddenly started slipping out of her hand, as Ella Martinez stood in the waiting area to board her flight. She let go of the medium brown suitcase for a moment, to wipe the sweat off her hand on her favorite pair of jeans she wore. Her blue blouse felt more constricting then it had been this morning, when she kissed her Mom's cheek and promised to return back in a week.

Ella Martinez was the prominent daughter of Valencia Martinez, a veterinarian who lived miles away from her father, Jeb Batchelder. Course, she should have her now divorced father's name, but her mother had chosen to keep her maiden name and decided the same for Ella when she and Jeb had split up when she was 10. Now, at age 16, she was finally going to visit him and her sister, Max, in New Mexico, alone. Her mother was in the middle of a rather important operation for the mayor's pet, so she had bought only one plane ticket, for Ella. This was the first time Ella was going to fly in an airplane, and the fact her mother's hand was not on her shoulder, telling her to relax, made her nervous. She had never been flying before. She had never been travelling alone.

_"Flight 24 to New Mexico is now boarding," _a clear, pleasant woman's voice echoes through the airport, but to Ella, it sounded like Satan beckoning her closer to her death. Tightening the blue band around her ponytail, she picked up her luggage and walked towards the entrance gate. Every step felt like a step into hell, and when the hostess asked for her passport and ticket, she fumbles, searching through her jean pockets for the items. Finally managing to hand it over, the woman barely glances at them, as she waves her on. Nodding, Ella took a step inside the jetway, her luggage rolling against the carpeted floor. The smell of coffee filled her nose, and she begins to hold her breath. The fact that she was no longer on solid ground and was heading towards a metal craft that could potentially kill her just made it even worse.

Finally making it to the airplane, she smiles at the hostess, dressed in navy, who offers a kind smile in return. Ella bites her lip, as she looks at the rows and rows of passengers heading to New Mexico. Observing the black bolded letters above the seats, she tries her best to find hers, Row 12, seat A. Bumping into several annoyed passengers, and after walking for a while, she finally found it. Row 12. Seat A. Lifting up her luggage, she forces the brown suitcase into the overhead compartment, and manages to make her way to the window seat, her shoulders tensing even further. She could see the plane's wing, and she checks her watch. 12:00pm. Right on schedule.

"You alright?"

A voice interrupts her thoughts, and she turns her head to her left, to see a curious sort of person. A boy with strawberry blond hair, and unfocused eyes. He holds an Ipod in his hand, and ear buds are wrapped around his ears. A plain white t-shirt and jeans is all he wore, and when he looks at her, there is something unnerving.

"Y-Yeah," she replies softly, immediately breaking eye contact and staring at her hands, calloused and bony, "Just a bit nervous."

"First flier?"

"How could you tell?" she asks rather sarcastically, and quickly, she realized how impolite that was. She apologizes quickly, and the boy smiles, shaking his head.

"It's fine. Nick, my brother, always gives me crap like that."

"I suppose you're going to see your sibling too?"

"Naturally."

She giggles, liking this boy's demeanor and course of speaking. She sticks her hand out, beginning to realize she maybe won't have to be alone on this flight. "My name is Ella Martinez. You?"

"James. James Griffiths." He smiles, though he doesn't take her hand, "My friends call me Iggy, though."

"Why?" she retracts her hand, wondering if he had an affinity for cleanliness and not taking the head of people who were afraid of flying in airplanes.

"No clue. And if you're wondering, I'm blind. That's why I didn't take your hand. I'm not being rude."

It drops on her shoulders like a boulder. Of course. That unfocused look, the way he never seems exactly sure where to look when she speaks, he's blind. Not that it was a bad thing. Maybe that would be a good thing. Would he even have spoken to her if he really knew what she looks like? Ella wasn't bad looking, of course, but she wasn't a natural beauty, like Max.

"_Oh_. Okay."

The pair are quiet for a moment, Iggy fidgeting with his Ipod and Ella pulling out one of her favorite books from her satchel, The Great Gatsby. She opens it to the first page, ready to begin to read, before the lights in the airplane begins to dim. She stares at the page, trying to calm herself down, but it felt like she was being isolated from the world, and that she wouldn't be okay. Her breath begins to come in short gasps, and she grips the armrests tightly, as though she was holding on her for her life.

As the plane's safety introduction begins, she becomes more and more stressed, ready to run off this plane, and ready to just go home and pretend this never happened. About to unbuckle her seat belt, she feels a hand placing itself on hers, and she is suddenly pulled from her nightmare, to see Iggy staring at her, unfocused as ever, but something sincere in his eyes.

"Hey, it's going to be okay." His words echoes in her ears, "I bet you're pretty brave. You'll be fine. And quit breathing so loudly."

She's stricken dumb for a moment, before beginning to laugh. Laugh. He had lightened the burden on her, and she suddenly felt a bit silly. Maybe there was nothing to be afraid of. As the plane arose in the sky, Iggy's hand didn't leave hers. In fact, he didn't let go until they were safely in the sky, and Ella had calmed completely.

"Thanks." She breaks the silence between the two, as the passengers begin to get up, go to the bathroom and such. A little girl in front of the pair begins to sing, and she can't help but let her smile enlarge.

"No problem. Fang was like that, too, when he was a first flier. I had to smack him on the back of the head, though, to get him to shut up."

"You sound like a kind guy."

"Only for you, maybe."

Her cheeks began to burn, as Iggy let out a hearty laugh. He removes the ear buds from his ear, and turns his body awkwardly, facing her. Of course, he had only such great hearing, so he was staring out the window behind her.

"So," she begins, "How old are you?"

"Sixteen."

"What grade?"

"10."

"Me, too!" she exclaims, "Have I seen you around school?"

"Not a chance. I'm homeschooled."

"I have a feeling I have, though."

"Clandestine meeting, I suppose?" he says charmingly, and he squeezes her hand, "Hey, Ella. D'you have a book on you?"

"Yeah," she says softly, fingering the worn pages of her novel in her hands, "Why?"

"Can you read me a book?"

"Don't you have an audio books on your Ipod?"

"It'd sound better coming with your sweet voice."

Raising her eyebrows, she smiles, the smile reaching her cheeks and her eyes, as she flips to the first page of The Great Gatsby. Iggy scooches over, nearing Ella, and placing his head near hers as she reads. She fumbles a bit with her words, but begins to read the story of Jay Gatsby, sinking herself and Iggy into an adventure of a lifetime, and the beginning of a hopeful, gentle love.

_"In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since._  
_ "Whenever you feel like criticizing any one," he told me, "just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had." _


End file.
